A New Castle County Superior Court jury convicted Calvin Ushery on all charges, including first-degree robbery and first-degree assault, for the 2022 robbery of and brutal assault of the then 67-year-old owner of the downtown Wilmington business.
Ushery, 40, was convicted of Robbery First Degree, Assault First Degree, and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission.
The September 2022 robbery and assault on West 9th Street drew widespread media attention, even in the jewelry trade press, due to the brutality of the assault that led to the victim’s retirement. The attack was captured on video.
Ushery’s first trial led to a hung jury and the state opted for a second trial.
“This was a just result for a shockingly cruel and disturbing crime,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors and the Wilmington Police, I am confident that this criminal will spend a significant portion of his life behind bars. While nothing can undo the devastation that this man so callously wrought upon the victim and his family, it is my hope that this conviction can bring some degree of comfort as they heal. On to the sentencing.”
Ushery produced a gun from his waistband and pistol-whipped the shop owner three times, knocking him to the floor unconscious. He then climbed over the counter, stomped on the victim’s head several times and began smashing the display cabinets with a hammer and filling his backpack with jewelry. When he noticed the victim stirring during the course of the robbery, Ushery struck the victim’s head several more times, including blows with a hammer, before fleeing with the stolen jewelry.
The man was taken to Christiana Hospital where he was treated for a week, spending four days in the intensive care unit before being discharged. He continues to suffer from the aftereffects of his wounds.
Ushery is scheduled for sentencing on July 19, 2024, where he may be declared a Habitual Offender. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years prison and a maximum of 75 years without Habitual Offender status.
